Jail for silence on child sex abuse

People responsible for children in churches, schools, sporting clubs, youth clubs and the government could face up to five years' jail if they fail to protect them from sex abuse under proposed law reforms.

The Napthine government introduced proposed legislation on Tuesday that, if passed, would mean anyone who knows or believes a child has been sexually abused, could face up to three years' jail if they fail to provide information to police.

Premier Denis Napthine said the new laws would make it clear that people who know or believe a child has been sexually abused cannot stay silent.Credit:John Donegan

It would also be a crime for people in positions of responsibility in organisations caring for children to fail to act against known child abusers. This would carry a maximum penalty of five years' jail.

Premier Denis Napthine said the new laws would make it clear that people who know or believe a child has been sexually abused cannot stay silent.

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''This sends a clear, unambiguous message to the Victorian community: if you are aware of child sexual abuse you must speak up, you must report it to the police,'' Dr Napthine said. ''The era of cover-up and silence is over.''

It is unknown what authorities will be required to do to protect children from sexual abuse beyond reporting allegations. But it is believed they will be obliged to take certain steps to ensure children in their care are not at risk of abuse.

The state inquiry into child abuse recommended the new offences in its Betrayal of Trust report, which cited the Catholic Church's historical practice of protecting and moving offending clergy to different parishes rather than reporting their crimes as a main reason why such offences were needed. The offences do not include information emerging during confession.

Victorian Catholic Church spokesman Father Shane McKinlay said it was right to make it an offence to fail to disclose.

Father McKinlay condemned such practices, saying the church had not been aware of them occurring in the past 20 to 30 years. He hoped the law would enable the church to report allegations to police without identifying victims, to avoid breaching their privacy.

''[The church told the child abuse] inquiry that we wanted to be in a position to report all complaints we received but that we wanted to be able to protect the privacy of victims who did not want to be identified in that process.''

He said planned exceptions to the offence - including not reporting information from victims seeking medical help or counselling if the victim asked that information stay confidential - appeared to protect victims' confidentiality.

Pam Krstic had a breakdown and lost her job as a Catholic school teacher in 2006 after she said her concerns about a man she believed was grooming a student for sex were ignored. Ms Krstic, a child protection adviser for the Melbourne Victims Collective, said the new offences would encourage people to speak up about their concerns.

The Uniting Church, Salvation Army and Jewish Community Council of Victoria welcomed the changes, saying mandatory reporting had long been part of their policies.

Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals president Frank Sal said schools already had mandatory reporting rules.